Fresh is always better, even if you don't have acces to San Marazano tomatoes.
This tomato sauce recipe goes out the the poor guys here. I imagine we are the minority here?
1. Tomatoes--any kind. You will buy them initially to use them for sandwiches, and maybe a salad, but will be left over with a bowl of soft tomatoes at tge end of the week. The rest left older will start to rot, so why not make tomato sauce.
2. In any pot, put in 1/4 cup of olive oil.
3. Put in handful of fresh onions in the hot oil. (You can use dehydrated onion. Many commercial kitchens do.)
4. Add a few teaspoons of fresh garlic, or dehydrated garlic.
5. Add couple of teaspoons of salt, and a pinch of honey, or sugar. I used pancake syrup last night because I ran out of anything sweet.
(add a pinch of cayenne pepper, or black, if you like it spicy.)
Using a potato masher smash it all down. Cook 40 minutes on low.
You now have pasta sauce, or pizza sauce, for the week. Add butter when using it on pasta.
You now have sauce for noodles. Add a few pats of butter for pasta. Your guests won't know, but will like your sauce. Belive me restaurants use a lot of butter, and salt. There's a happy medium. A 1/2 tbs of butter will not kill you. The vegan in the group can use vegetarian butter substitute.
You want pizza?
You need dough?
1. luke warm water added to a large bowl. Add the yeast. Amount doesn't matter. A few teaspoons usually.
2. add some sugar, honey, or whatever. Last night I used pancake syrup.
3. Add high gluten flour if you can find it. Add any flour will do if that's all you have.
4. In the bowl mix it like you dislike it. Add more flour if necessary. Add more water if too dry. Just do it.
Pound that dough. After 20-30 minutes it should be the consistency of a male boob. (I have man boobs, and couldn't think of a politically correct example, but we have all all felt a fatty boob. It's just adipose tissue, and skin. Enough of my analogies you will never hear out of any cooks mouth.)
5. Cover that dough with a wet towel, saran wrap, or foil.
Let it rise in a warm kitchen. Since most of us don't have the right kitchen temp, turn on the oven for a a minute, and turn off. You want the temp between 80-120 degrees.
Put a pot holder on the rack and the bowl of dough goes on the rack. The pot holder acts as a gasket between the warm metal grates, and your bowl.
5. Let it rise for an hour. It's now ready to use for pizza dough, or freezing. You could punch it down again, and let it rise, but unless you have all the right quality ingredients, it dosen't matter. (you could add some oil oil to the dough.)
I'm poor, and have been cooking for myself, and my mom for years.
I was trained at Zesto's Cafe in the 80's by a owner who always accused me of stealing. I was unbelievably honest/ernest at the time. I didn't know how the wealthy lie, and cheat, daily.
I guess because I was in high school, with long hair. I did know other employees whom were stealing, but never said anything. I'm no rat. Then, or now.
Trust me tomato sauce, and pizza dough are easy to make.
Making good bread is very, very hard though.
So hard, I have heard French/Italian chefs gave up, and only buy from their baker. Something about the yeast in the air, and the right climate, along with the right stove.